Trumpeter Erik Jekabson spent nearly five months composing new
music while going about his San Francisco Bay Area life before gathering his
sextet at the legendary Fantasy Studios in Berkeley to track “Erik Jekabson
Sextet,” which drops September 7 on Wide Hive Records. Inspired by places,
events, moods and ideas, the nine original compositions that he wrote for his
seventh album were recorded all in one day with Gregory Howe in the producer’s
chair.
Jekabson
regathered the musicians – guitarist Dave Macnab, saxophonist Dave Ellis,
drummer Hamir Atwal and bassist John Wiitala - who appeared on his 2017 outing,
“Erik Jekabson Quintet,” and added seven-time Grammy-nominated percussionist
John Santos.
Hazy stop
lights and blurred lines mix and meld on “San Pablo Avenue,” a richly-textured
tune that combines some of Jekabson’s trademarks: lyrical melodies, unexpected
rhythmic shifts and modern harmonies. The transcendent “Floating Song” unfolds
at a deliberate pace, slowly adding layers, countermelodies and builds in
intensity over a solemn bass line. “The Hills of Santa Cruz” is an atmospheric
sojourn featuring Jekabson’s dark trumpet tone and Macnab’s nuanced guitar
accompaniment. The pace picks up on the charismatic “Chrysalis,” a grooving
Brazilian baiao showcasing Santos’ skillfully-layered percussion and special
guest keyboardist Matt Clark. Humor and quirkiness abound on “Cat and Mouse”;
the storming “Hive Wide” slashes a soulful path highlighting Ellis’ tenor
saxophone; and “Gentle Wave” washes over the shoreline full of restraint and
grace. A literal “Change Up,” the outfit gets into a swinging mood on the head
bobbing, finger-popping jaunt propelled by the tight hookup of bassist Wiitaka
and drummer Atwal. “Medjool” closes the collection with a Middle
Eastern-flavored melody featuring Santos’s rife embellishments.
“This
recording is a documentation of the sounds of my busy life here in the San
Francisco Bay Area, interpreted by some of my favorite Bay Area musicians. I
suppose all composers are influenced by their environment and I'm no different.
I wrote music for this particular band, but I allowed the ideas and
inspirations for the songs to come to me as I went about my life here. I would
hear the beginnings or seeds of these songs at different times - sometimes
during reflection, sometimes while traveling, often when watching something
that interested me and made me think, ‘How would this sound if it were a piece
of music?’ I would immediately sing most of these musical ideas into my iPhone
and then sit down at the piano later to finish them. I was able to envision the
sound of these particular musicians when writing as we’ve been playing and
recording together now for a few years,” said Jekabson, a musician, composer,
arranger, band leader, educator, mentor and author who manages to balance his
life with aplomb.
“I came up
with the compositions for this album in between gigging, teaching, running the
Young Musicians program at the California Jazz Conservatory, leading the
Electric Squeezebox Orchestra Big Band, arranging and composing for other
projects and getting prepared for the birth of my second daughter,” said
Jekabson who will support the new record with a series of album release
concerts throughout the Bay Area (Sept. 28 in San Jose, Sept. 29 in Oakland and
Oct. 12 in San Francisco).
Jekabson
debuted as a leader on 2002’s “Intersection” and his solo records have placed
him in a variety of band configurations. After earning a master’s degree from
the San Francisco Conservatory of Music in 2005, he’s been busy in the San
Francisco Bay Area music scene, co-producing and performing on two Electric
Squeezebox Orchestra albums. Last year, Jekabson played alongside Kamasi
Washington as part of Throttle Elevator Music. As a sideman, he performed on
iconic late-night television shows – from Letterman to Leno – and/or toured
with John Mayer and Galactic. His deft touch as an arranger has burnished works
by an interesting assortment of vocalists including Madeleine Peyroux, Ani
DiFranco and Jane Krakowski as well as a host of orchestras, symphonies and
jazz ensembles. Jekabson regularly serves as an instructor at Jazzcamp West
along with several esteemed workshops and institutes. In addition to the
California Jazz Conservatory, he is on the faculty at several colleges and is a
seasoned clinician.
“Erik
Jekabson Sextet” includes the following songs:
“San Pablo
Avenue”
“Floating
Song”
“The Hills
of Santa Cruz”
“Chrysalis”
“Cat and
Mouse”
“Hive Wide”
“Gentle
Wave”
“Change Up”
“Medjool”
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